By: Ollus Ndomu
Hundreds of industrial workers in Harare’s bustling Workington area have been laid off by various companies struggling to remain operational due to an electricity crisis that has left the area without power for nearly a month.
Companies have reduced their workforce in effort to cutdown wage bills and other costs.
Since December 28, when one of Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority (ZESA) sub-power stations exploded, companies have been relying on generators.
Alan Dreyer, the owner of Wood Take, said that some businesses were still planning to pay the remaining employees on their books, despite not having been productive for the entire month.
“I have about 30 employees and the same number at my sister company. There has not been any power since we opened this year but I assure you they will be expecting their salaries at the end of the month despite the situation,” said Dreyer.
“If only we could get communication as to when ZESA expects to reconnect us for planning purposes.
Contacted by journalists for a comment on worsening power situation, a ZESA engineer chose to give an unclear response.
However, media inquiries revealed that the head office had not started the process of fixing the station.
“I cannot give you a specific date, but we will just have to see where we would be by next week Friday,” he said.
On Friday, the tabloid, NewZimbabwe.com reported that the power utility does not have all components needed to fix the station.
The parts are accessible in South Africa and are yet to be ordered, allAfrica.
Workington area houses millers of wheat and maize, one of Harare’s largest sugar refineries and other key industries.
Another industry employee who spoke under anonymity conditions had the following to say:
“We cannot afford to use generators because of our heavy duty machinery, so all operations at most of the industries have been stopped.
“The issue is mainly on payment of salaries, some employers have already started laying off workers with no pay because there is no production.
“All downstream businesses which survive based on the presence of our employees, such as restaurants, have been affected too,” said another employer who preferred anonymity.
Zimbabwe is already grappling with an electricity crisis that has seen load-shedding of up to18 hours as a result of depreciated water levels at its main Kariba Hydro power plant.
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